Wimbledon: Big Three Through to Men’s Semis; ‘Murena’ Bounced from Mixed Doubles

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all took their expected spots in the Wimbledon semifinals, as the big three of men’s tennis overpowered their opponents on Wednesday.

Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating David Goffin in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Wimbledon men’s draw. (Image: Tim Ireland/AP)

Federer and Nadal will now play in one semifinal on Friday, while Djokovic will face No. 23 seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who reached his first Grand Slam semifinal.

Superstars in Top Form at Wimbledon

Djokovic faced No. 21 seed David Goffin on Wednesday, and while the Belgian put up some resistance early, the 15-time Grand Slam champion ultimately cruised to a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 victory.

“I felt like I managed to dismantle his game,” Djokovic said of a 10-game winning streak that effectively put away the match.

Meanwhile, Bautista Agut took four sets to get past No. 26 Guido Pella, 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The win continues the 31-year-old’s best year in terms of Grand Slam results, as he already made his first quarterfinal earlier this year at the Australian Open.

Djokovic will go into the semifinal clash as a massive favorite to reach the Wimbledon final. FanDuel Sportsbook in New Jersey has the Serbian listed at -1500 odds to advance, while Bautista Agut can be backed at +1040.

Nadal and Federer to Meet Again

The other semifinal is expected to be a much more competitive affair.

Federer began his match with No. 8 Kei Nishikori poorly, getting broken in the first game and struggling to stay in the first set after that. Nishikori managed to hold on to win the set, but Federer quickly took over from there, winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

The match marked Federer’s 100th career win at Wimbledon, the most ever for any play at a single Grand Slam tournament.

Meanwhile, Nadal survived a tough first-set challenge from American Sam Querrey before going on to win in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.

That sets up yet another meeting in what might be the greatest tennis rivalry ever. Nadal has a 24-15 head-to-head advantage over Federer, including a dominant win earlier this year at the French Open. But away from clay, Federer has had the best of Nadal in recent years, and has a 2-1 career record against the Spaniard at Wimbledon.

“We have a lot of information on Rafa, and so does he about us,” Federer said after his win over Nishikori. “So you can either dive into tactics and all that stuff like mad for two days, or you’re just going to say: ‘You know what? It’s grass-court tennis and I’m going to come out there and play attacking tennis.’”

Federer (+124) is a slight underdog to Nadal (-144) heading into Friday’s match. Overall, Djokovic (-160) is the heavy favorite to win the Wimbledon men’s title.